Flood protection for the City of Beira

Abstract

AbstractA new tidal outlet is now protecting the port city on Mozambique's Indian Ocean coast with a population of approximately half a million people, and improving the city's drainage. Since the Indian Ocean in this area has a very large tidal range of up to 7 m, reliable coastal protection is of great importance. The Chiveve tidal river, which runs through the city for a distance of approx. 5 km, was neglected in the past, and became increasingly silted up, to the point that it no longer served as a drainage channel for the surrounding area. The standing water promoted the spreading of diseases such as malaria and cholera. During very high tides or storm surges in the adjacent ocean, combined with heavy rainfall, the Chiveve regularly overflowed its banks and flooded much of its catchment area – particularly the informal settlements along its banks. To address this problem, Inros Lackner designed a new tidal outlet and flood barrier to protect Beira's city centre. The project also included a comprehensive plan for the reestablishment of the original river course and renaturation measures along its embankments. This included excavation of the river, dredging of sludge within the fishing port downstream, resettlement measures, and planting of young mangroves along the river banks.